GigaOM has a great article about how Skype, the hugely successful and popular Internet voice and video service, may be shut down. This is because when Ebay bought Skype a few years ago they did not purchase the underlying technology that allows Skype to work, and now the owners of that technology are talking about revoking Ebay’s license/franchise.
Just this April the Skype Founders were making big moves to buy Skype back from Ebay. It sounds to me like the Skype Founders are playing hardball to get the whole thing back. This probably has to do with the fact that their current project, Joost, is a bust, and they are realizing that Skype is a money tree.
All of this info came to light because Ebay is trying to spin Skype off into its own IPO. The reason for this move is that Ebay has been unable to sync Skype with its core services and already wrote the business down close to $1 Billion, ouch.
I love Skype and use it for business everyday. I cold call businesses and make sales. Yes the call quality is not the best but its passable and thats all the matters. I pay $90 a year for a phone number and unlimited calls to phones in the US and Canada. it syncs with my address book and salesforce and it ports to my iPhone and any computer in the world.
Stay tuned to this one.
